Candida species are commensal organisms of humans, usually found on the mucous membranes of the gut, oral cavity, and vaginal introitus, and in warm moist skin folds. Candida is the most commonly identified causative agent of oral or vaginal thrush. Candida can also cause life-threatening infections in hospital patients. In particular, Candida can cause invasive diseases in hosts with altered immunity, such as in patients with HIV infection, patients that have received organ or bone marrow transplants, and in patients experiencing neutropenia after cancer immunotherapy. Patients on intensive regimens of cancer therapy, patients on prolonged broad spectrum antibiotic therapy, patients using invasive devices, and patients on prolonged hospital stays are also at high risk for such infections.
Conventional methods for identifying Candida species in patients include morphology and assimilation tests involving blood cultures. These tests can be time consuming, laborious, and often produce false negative results, which adversely affect the targeting of anti-fungal treatment and related point-of-care decisions. In addition, these methods may require extensive, specialized equipment and highly trained operators. These methods may further be limited by their sensitivity or the number of Candida species that can be detected simultaneously.
Accordingly, there is a need for compositions, methods, and kits for detecting the presence of Candida species in a biological sample in a timely, accurate, and efficient manner.